The coffee shop was in the City Square. Lacey skipped across the streets happily. She was in a good mood, she was going to see her Dad and she was excited that after his recovery they could finally start going out together. He was starting to love the outdoors too, her aunt told her and she had found it relieving that he preferred to go out of the house rather than mope around all day.
"Hey Dad!"
She said as she waved from afar after seeing him crouching over a newspaper.
He looked up and grinned at her, beckoning her to come over.
She slipped into the seat across his laughing.
"How are you? You look happy!"
"I am! I'm so glad I can finally see you outside again! You look so much more better!"
Her father shrugged.
"Yea... Your aunt's been fattening me up real good."
"Well, that's a good thing. You need all the strength you can get."
"And how are you? How's work?"
He questioned as he beckoned the waiter and Lacey shrugged
"Work is fine."
She murmured trying not to focus too much on Hunt and all the time they had been spending together. Aidas on the other hand, he had barely replied her last text message with something meaningful.
She didn't know if she should feel relieved or worried about his absence.
"You look like you've got something on your mind."
Her father said and Lacey sighed. He was right, she did have something on her mind. Ever since that night since Hunt's father had looked shocked seeing her, she had started to think about the possibilities of she and Lila being related. It wasn't impossible, the resemblance was uncanny and she needed an explanation.
"Yes. I have..."
She said as the waiter approached their table smiling. Together they both gave their orders and she walked away promising to be back soon.
She passed a small picture of Lila Hampshire that she had managed to steal from Hunt while he was not watching.
Her father picked up the picture and stared at it. For a long time, till his expression became guarded and he glanced at her briefly.
"That's not me Dad. Her name is Lila Hampshire. She looks like me and she died a year ago."
"I never knew my mum, seeing as you withheld as much information about her as you could. But I wonder if we're related..."
Lacey shrugged.
"I mean...she could be my sister or cousin or something. And I wonder if you deprived me of this because of what happened between you and Mum."
"Lacey..."
Her father started but she shook her head.
"No more. If you're going to lie to me and change the topic, then don't even bother talking about it. I don't want to hear the same old story again."
Her father frowned and clenched his jaw but Lacey was determined. She had to know about her mother. She had every right to. For years she had tried, but it was as if her mother had disappeared with no trace or sign of her.
"You want to know the real truth about your mother?"
Her father asked and Lacey nodded.
"Yes. I think that's long overdue."
He chuckled slowly as he shook his head, narrowing his gaze on Lacey who wore a deviant expression
"For years I've tried to keep you from the truth. I've tried to keep you from her..."
He spat out the words 'her' like it was acid in his tongue.
"The real truth is...your mother never wanted you."
Her father said and Lacey blinked.
No, it wasn't possible. He had to be lying, her brain told her but it was hard processing the statement.
"She was a horrible person to you. The minute you were born she didn't even look at you for a second. She left the night you were born, still in the blood drenched hospital gown that she was given. She didn't even as much as stop at the nursery ward where I was watching you sleep."
His voice broke at the end and Lacey could feel the raw pain in his voice.
No, her father was not lying. She could hear just how painful it was for him to say it and she felt bad for even bringing it up in the first place.
"I'm sorry..."
"No. You had every right to know. I'm sorry I didn't have enough strength to tell you earlier."
"Oh Dad..."
Lacey blinked back tears and her father shrugged as he stretched his hands across the table to hold hers.
"I really wish I could shield you from the truth."
He added as he turned to the picture of Lila on the table.
"Do you think it's possible?"
She asked the question he was dreading to say and her father shook his head.
"No, I don't think it is. Your mother might have been a lot of things, but a mother wasn't one."
"But we look alike!"
Lacey argued but her father shrugged.
"I also did not know if your mother had any family. So yes, she could be related to you."
"Are you serious?"
She asked with hope in her eyes and her father shrugged.
"I really cannot be sure Lacey. But your mother told me she had no family and I knew she was lying just to keep me away. Why she did that, I don't know. But it is possible."
The two of them were silent for a while before her father picked up the picture of Lila again and squinted at it.
"What is it?"
She asked her father and he smiled.
"This girl..."
"Lila you say?"
He asked and she nodded in agreement.
"She has your mother's eyes."
Aidas's call had come in mid afternoon. And Lacey had ignored it. She wasn't in the mood for his antics. and she especially didn't know why he was suddenly so interested in seeing her when he had been ignoring her for almost a week.
She had dismissed the urgent text that came after either. Till she heard a frequent and persistent knock on her door. She had thought it was Aidas but she was even more shocked when she found out it was Imelda.
"Imelda?"
She said in shock as she stepped back and Imelda's smile turned coy.
"I'm sorry, were you expecting someone different?"
She asked and Lacey shrugged.
"Yea I was. I thought it was Aidas."
She waited for the laughter but it never came. Instead Imelda raised a single eyebrow and smiled appreciatively.
"I'll give you time to dress up."
"Wait? Where are we going?"
She looked around wearily and found Imelda's expression getting a bit irritated.
"Dress up? I don't want to see Aidas."
Imelda rolled her eyes, she was too tired to deal with Lacey's misplaced anger.
"Quite frankly I don't want to!"
Imelda smiled.
"You're his employee."
"I'll be waiting outside."
Her phone rang the same time Imelda walked towards the door to wait for her. She finally decided that it was time she gave Aidas Vladimir a piece of her mind.
"Why are you not picking my calls?"
He fired the second she accepted the call. Lacey rolled her eyes.
"Oh! Same reason you didn't pick mine when I was calling you all week!"
"That was different."
Aidas groaned and Lacey shrugged.
"It's pretty much the same Aidas. And oh, I just wanted to tell you that I'm not coming over. So you can tell Imelda to go home now."
She said as she glanced at Imelda who was standing stoic at the door with an unreadable expression.
"She's not going anywhere without you and that's my order."
"Well... You can shove your order up your prickly ass because I have things to do today."
She examined her nails with a smile on her face, the laboured breathing over the line told her that she was getting under his skin.
Good, that was exactly what she wanted him to feel.
She wasn't at his beck and call. And he couldn't just leave her and come back whenever he wanted with a fresh set of commands.
Besides, if he ever wanted them to work together smoothy and seamlessly, she wanted him to at least start telling the truth.
The truth about everything.
"I admit, it was wrong of me to have not contacted you. But that doesn't mean I haven't been watching out for you in my own way."
Aidas said gently and Lacey stopped in her tracks.
She wasn't expecting an apology.
Or anything close to one.
In fact it was the last thing she had expected knowing fully well that Aidas Vladimir was way too proud for one.
"But, there's something urgent we need to talk about. Will you please come over? Imelda will drop you off at the castle."
He said gently and Lacey paused a bit.
"Okay. Fine. I suppose I could spare a moment or two."
"Thank you. I'll be expecting you Candy."
He said and ended the call abruptly.
Candy?
Why did he call her that?